Page 48 of Highlander’s Dangerous Love

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After admitting to Lady MacNeill that she loved Colin and not Bryce, Gemma could not help but feel guilty. The lady was a kind woman, and she would have made a lovely mother-in-law, but it was not worth the pain of being married to a monster of a man. That’s what Bryce had become — a monster. Being entitled was one thing. Existing as a woman in a man’s world was another. But his cruel words; his claim that she belonged to him…it made her stomach turn. This was not the Bryce with whom she’d grown up and played.

Lady MacNeill had sighed and stood up, saying the two of them ought to go speak to Bryce together. And then it had been a rather quiet walk through the castle, save for the sound of rumbling thunder and the patter of rain. Inside the castle, it was peaceful as the storm raged. But as they neared the great hall, the ladies heard voices and the clang of steel. Upon peering outside, they were shocked to see Colin and Bryce fighting ferociously in the pouring rain.

“Jesus,” the Lady had breathed. “I’ll go fetch the laird; I dinnae think we can stop this.”

But Gemma decided to go ahead anyway, which is how she found herself in the pouring rain, screaming at the two of them to stop.

Both men were soaked to the bone, and their broad chests were heaving with the effort of their fight.

“Gemma, nay, this is not yer fight!” Colin shouted, holding a hand out, urging her to stay back. Yet, she marched right in and stood between them.

“It is my fight! I am part of this, am I not?”

“He will not take the lairdship from me!” Bryce growled.

“No one wants that, Bryce! Ye can be the laird. Rule all ye want. All Colin an’ I want is tae be together.”

“Truly?” He asked.

Gemma nodded and took a step forward.

“Aye. I’m sorry, Bryce. I am. But my heart is with Colin.”

Bryce’s sword clattered on the ground next to him.

“I’m sorry, too,” he admitted, his voice much softer than when she’d first discovered them.

“It will all be well, I promise,” Gemma said in a soothing voice, stepping toward him.

“Gemma…” Colin warned. She looked back with a soft smile to reassure him that it would all be well, but it was not.

In a flash, Bryce grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to him. Suddenly, she felt the cold steel of a knife at her throat. She could not even cry out, shocked as she was, but Colin did. Through the thunder and the rain, she could not hear him.

“Now neither of us will get what we want,” Bryce said to Colin in a menacing tone. Gemma was frozen. Everything slowed down at that moment. It was so still, Gemma was hyperaware of the blood flowing in her veins. It rushed to her ears. She closed her eyes, anticipating what was next, until she heard an older male voice shouting.

“What is the meaning of this? Unhand the lass now!”

Gemma did not think Bryce would do it, but if there was anyone in the world he listened to, it was Laird MacNeill. Surprisingly, he released her with a shove toward Colin.

“Get ye inside. We’ll speak like civilized folk,” the laird ordered.

There was barely any time to speak as the boys picked up their swords. Gemma clung to Colin’s arm like she was a ladybug and he a tree branch. When she looked into his eyes, she saw something in him she’d never seen before; fear.

When they were all inside, the laird bade Colin and Bryce sit in front of him, like they were naughty schoolchildren rather than grown men intent on killing each other. Gemma stood next to her ladyship, watching and listening.

“Why in God’s name were ye fiightin’? And ye—!” he pointed a wizened finger at Bryce, “why were ye threatenin’ yer betrothed with a knife?”

Colin gulped and opened his mouth to speak, but Bryce beat him to it, and although he and Gemma already knew the answer, he was still shocked when he asked the question.

“Is Captain Frazier really my father?”

The brokenness; the sorrow with which he asked made Gemma want to cry. In that moment, she understood what it must feel like, to believe one thing your whole life and have it unraveled in front of you so quickly.

The question seemed to have caught the laird off guard. He blinked in surprise before speaking again.

“Does it matter? Ye are my son—” he said, but Bryce cut him off.